UN Counter-Terrorism Committee meeting produces action plan

The Security Council's Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC) has wrapped up a meeting in Nairobi with a plan for specific steps to boost border security.

A joint statement and action plan issued by the Committee and some three dozen international, regional and subregional organizations stated the participants' intention to share information on border control and security matters, giving due regard to confidentiality of information, by providing guidance material on regional policies, legal instruments, and best practices.

They also called for coordinated activities aimed at encouraging countries to develop plans and strategies to protect their borders and assistance to Members States with devising strategies and policies to counter the scourge.

The statement was adopted at the conclusion of the Committee's fifth special meeting with international, regional and subregional organizations, held from 29 to 31 October at the UN headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya. Previous gatherings were held in 2003 in New York and Washington, D.C., in 2004 in Vienna and in 2005 in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

The meeting's working sessions covered the various international standards and methods of ensuring the security of cargo, civil aviation and maritime transport; law enforcement and its role in safeguarding borders; and asylum and refugee protection issues.

Along with the Committee's Executive Directorate (CTED), the discussions were led by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL), the World Customs Organization (WCO) and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).